


I'll See You Tonight

by Sansylicious



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Character Death, Established Relationship, F/M, Mild Sexual Content, Minor Violence, Sans and Reader have been together for a few years
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-26
Updated: 2016-06-26
Packaged: 2018-07-18 11:12:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7312723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sansylicious/pseuds/Sansylicious
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Today started like any other. The brothers had gone to work. You had cooked, watched Mettaton’s latest movie and read one of Sans’ physics books. You were just starting to watch another movie when Sans stormed in through the door. </p><p>“we have to go.”</p><p>You sat up immediately and looked at him, confused. He wasn’t supposed to come back home for another three hours. He looked furious. Devastated.</p><p>His pupils had disappeared. </p><p>“now.”</p><p>You stood up, panic rising in your chest. </p><p>Your eyes caught a flash of red in his arms. You instantly recognized it as the scarf Papyrus always wears. Papyrus never leaves the house without it. So it couldn’t be his scarf. You noted the urgency in Sans’ voice. Your eyes widened. Stepping closer to him, you inspected the red cloth. There was dust on it. </p><p>Your heart stopped.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll See You Tonight

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, writing this sure was painful. But I've had this idea in the back of my head for some time and wanted to get it on paper. 
> 
> I've never been much of a writer though, much less a tragedy writer, but I wanted to give it a try. Writing in English was another challenge in itself too. 
> 
> But anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this little piece. You can also come hang with me on my tumblr (sansylicious.tumblr.com *NSFW main blog* or copperlicious.tumblr.com *SFW*). 
> 
> I got some of the inspiration for this from this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ3z6oxNheo
> 
> And, I recommend you listen to this on loop while reading to spice it up a little: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svUHcWvG4R0
> 
> Welp. See you at the end!

It’s been a few years since you fell in the underground.

You still remember all the different emotions you felt when making your way through. Your fear. Your curiosity.

The motherly goat monster, Toriel, was the first one of their kind you met. She had invited you to her house for tea and pie, which felt so bizarre back then. You had warily accepted and listened to her stories about the war between human- and monsterkind.

She also told you how Asgore would kill you if you left the ruins. But you knew you had to continue forward. Spending the rest of your life there wasn’t an option. So she let you go.

You didn’t get far when you heard that you would have to fight and kill someone, much less a king, to get back on the surface. It all seemed so surreal. You knew you wouldn’t do it. Knew you couldn’t even if you wanted to. Even with everyone saying how much of a push-over he is, you _knew_ you had no chance at winning or even the heart to try.

So you stayed.

The skeleton brothers were nice enough to let you live with them. With no money and nothing of your own but the clothes on your back, they had literally saved you.

Both of the boys had become family.

Papyrus, the energetic little brother, always managed to cheer you up with his optimistic attitude. With him, all the bad things in the world seemed to disappear.

When you first met him, he seemed keen on capturing you. He had arranged all these puzzles for you to solve. In the end he wanted to fight. You seemed so reluctant that he gave up. Instead he offered you some of his trap spaghetti. Even though it was awful, you complimented it. With enthusiasm he declared he could be your friend. He proceeded to hug you tightly.

Watching this whole charade unfold with unsettling, judging eyes, yet a warm smile was the older brother, Sans.

Sans.

He had been the second monster you encountered and the first to give you a heart-attack. “human. don’t you know it’s rude not to shake hands with a new pal?”

You thought you would die.

He had had a joy buzzer in his palm.

Little did you know you would now be dating the skeleton man.

He had been a comforting guy to be around, cracking jokes, making puns. But most of all, he was someone who you could talk to about anything.

One day, he had found you crying when he came back from work. You were sobbing on their couch, covering your face with your hands, hunched over your legs. In a second he was next to you, asking what’s wrong. You took a moment to compose yourself, but eventually told him you were homesick. Tired of things never changing here, how you felt trapped and robbed of your future. How you couldn’t pretend to be happy anymore. That you just couldn’t bear to _stay._

When you had finished, a heavy silence followed. After a while you felt a shift next to you and suddenly your hands were gently moved away from your eyes. He lifted your chin so you would look into his. You saw so much sadness in them, yet he looked a little nervous.

_“what if I gave you a reason to stay?”_

You looked at him with wide eyes.

He looked right back.

Then he _kissed_ you.

You had thought about kissing him before. You had thought about doing a lot more with him. But you also tried to push those feelings away, because you thought he would never be interested in a human. You didn’t even know if monsters considered it ethical, because of their history.

But when his hand settled on your back and pulled you against him, all those doubts washed away. Tears still poured down your cheeks, but now they were for a different reason.

 

You smiled fondly at the memory. It has been a year since, and your relationship has become stable. You loved him more than anything and he loved you.

And the sex was more than amazing.

The only thing that bothered you was the feeling that he was hiding something. You couldn’t help but feel like there was more to him than he ever revealed to you, but you brushed it off as you just wanting some excitement in your life.

Things were ok, so you didn’t push it.

You sat on the couch and flipped through channels. You settled on your favorite Mettaton show and made yourself comfortable.

Out of nowhere, someone spoke in your ear.

_“hey.”_

You smiled. You could smell the fresh winter air on him.

Sans jumped from behind the couch and sat next to you. Mirroring your memory, he came closer and pulled you into a kiss. You automatically put your hands around his neck, feeling the fur-lining of his jacket tickle your skin.  His warm and familiar arms settled on your lower back, keeping a strong hold on you as he deepened the kiss.

Suddenly, you were sitting on his bed.

You never could get used to the feeling of teleporting.

While you were still in a little haze, he laid you down on the mattress and moved on top of you. You felt his tongue against yours.

The feel of it was always as intoxicating.

His other hand slid down your waist slowly, savoring every touch of you along the way. Once reaching your hips, he made his way under your shirt, lifting it and caressing the sensitive, exposed skin. You let out a small whimper when he reached your breasts. He deepened the kiss even more when he noticed you had no bra on. You gave his tongue a small suck. He groaned and pinched your nipple in response. Your mind was beginning to blank.

Noises came from downstairs.

It must have been Papyrus coming home from his shift.

But the two of you kept going.

You slid your hands underneath Sans’ shirt, feeling the warm, smooth bones under your fingers. He squeezed your breast roughly and ground his hips against yours. You moaned into his mouth.

“THAT’S MY ROOM! IF YOU’VE FINISHED LOOKING AROUND…WE COULD GO IN AND… DO WHATEVER PEOPLE DO WHEN THEY DATE?”

Your eyes shot open.

Sans continued kissing you.

You ushered him to move and let you sit up. He groaned in frustration and tried to coax you back into it, biting your lip lightly. But when you insisted, he reluctantly moved away. He didn’t seem amused as he leaned against the wall, his teeth curved downward.

You just stared at him, surprise evident in your eyes at what you had heard. He seemed to know who Papyrus was talking to.

You quickly stood up and headed for the door. Cracking it open, you saw Papyrus standing in front of his room, looking down at…a child.

A human child.

Your eyes got even wider. You ran down the corridor, looking at them all the while.

“AH! HUMAN! LOOK! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE FOUND YET ANOTHER HUMAN. WE ARE CURRENTLY PREPARING FOR OUR DATE.”

The child turned around and looked at you. They smiled instantly and waved.

You didn’t know how to feel.

You were shocked to see another human after such a long time, used to not fitting in, being the only one of your kind in the Underground.

But you were also sad that the child would have to be trapped here, like you.

“ARE YOU ALRIGHT, HUMAN? YOU LOOK A LITTLE OUT OF SORTS.”

Your attention darted to Papyrus. He looked concerned.

 You tried to smile.

“Yeah, Papyrus, I’m ok.”

You immediately shifted your gaze to the child once again and crouched down to their eyelevel.

“Hey, there. Where did you come from?” you asked.

They responded with different hand gestures. You frowned.

Sign language. You didn’t know any, so you were at a loss.

“I’M SORRY HUMAN, BUT YOU CAN ASK THE LITTLE HUMAN QUESTIONS LATER. WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF VERY IMPORTANT MATTERS,” Papyrus looked proud of himself, ready to commence their “date”.

You smiled at the implications of it, imagining the child and Papyrus, both undoubtedly innocent, on a date together.

“I’m so sorry! Of course! Go ahead! Can’t let you two be anymore delayed,” you chuckled.

You glanced at the child one last time and then smiled at them both.

After you turned to walk back to Sans’ room, you heard Papyrus’ door close and excited, mumbled chatter through it. You stilled, a lot of new questions on your mind.

How did the child get here? Where were their parents? Did they come alone? Where would they go? Where would they stay?... Maybe…

They could stay here? With you.

With you, Papyrus and Sans.

Your thoughts were filled with warm images of being a real family, a reality where you and Sans would raise the child as your own. A real future for you. A purpose.

“so…how are ya’ feelin’, sweetheart?”

You lifted your head at the interruption.

Sans leaned against his doorframe, eyes fixed on you. The look on his face was unreadable, but you could sense his nervousness.

“I..I don’t know,” you answered quietly.

He shifted his gaze to the floor. You didn’t know what to say.

You decided to think about all of this later, since it was late and you were sure that Papyrus would never let the child leave before morning. You put a small smile on your lips and looked at your boyfriend.

“Want to pick up where we left off?” you asked seductively.

His eyes darted back to you. His look was filled with such love, such adoration; you were sure your heart would burst. And then the look turned into something darker. Before you could react, he had already pulled you to him, and you were once again laying under him on his bed. His half-lidded gaze was filled with determination.

_“now where were we?”_

 

* * *

 

 

It was morning.

With your mind still a little hazy, you quickly sat up and looked around you.

Sans was nowhere to be seen. It was quiet.

Throwing the covers off you, you hurriedly stood up. You headed towards the living room, fully intending to get some information out of the child.

But you were met with the brothers talking quietly to each other in the kitchen. Alone.

“Where’s the child?” you asked, pointedly interrupting their conversation. Both of the skeletons turned their head to you. Papyrus for once didn’t know what to say and Sans looked apologetic.

“the kid left,” he said.

It took a while for his response to register in your mind, but the moment it did, you felt a tinge of the same hopelessness you felt when you first fell underground.

It was almost immediately replaced with crushing disappointment.

“What!? Why!?” your quivering voice rang in the kitchen. “Why didn’t either of you stop them!?”

This time, Papyrus answered you, “WE TRIED HUMAN. BUT THE LITTLE HUMAN DIDN’T WANT TO STAY. THEY WANTED TO CONTINUE THEIR JOURNEY,” he looked at the floor, sad. “WE TRIED TO WARN THEM ABOUT UNDYNE AND ASGORE, BUT THEY STILL LEFT.”

Sans approached you. You looked at him with sorrow. He embraced you, petting your head as you leaned against his chest.

“listen, sweetheart. the kid might’ve left, but that doesn’t change anything. we’re still a family, even if it’s just us three. and you don’t need to worry about the kid, they’ll be fine.”

You gripped the front of his shirt, barely managing not to cry into it.

You knew the monsters wouldn’t care less about the child. They would surely get caught and brought to the king, forced to fight him, forced to _die_.

It _would_ break the barrier. It _would_ let you live the life you always wanted on the surface. A life together with the brothers.

But how could you let a child die when you could try and save them.

_When you could be the one to die in their place._

You decided to stop your sulking. Lifting your head, you looked at Sans. He smiled at you warmly, hope blooming in his eyes. You smiled a little too.

“You’re right, Sans,” you said. “It’s going to be alright,” you rested your head against his chest again.

He tightened his arms around you a little, before slowly letting you go.

“WOULD SOME OF MY BREAKFAST SPAGHETTI MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER, HUMAN? THERE’S STILL SOME LEFT OVER,” Papyrus chipped in behind Sans, making your heart ache. You answered him like you always do.

“Sounds delicious.”

 He headed to the stove, and placed a big heap of pasta on your plate.

“welp. i better head off, ‘cause work, she’s a-callin’. i swear, i’m wearing myself _down to the bone_ ,” Sans chuckled and kissed you.

 _“don’t feel too **bonely** without me, gorgeous,” _ he whispered low in your ear, making you shiver, and continued his way past you to the door.

“I, TOO, SHOULD MAKE MY LEAVE. IT IS THE DUTY OF A FUTURE ROYAL GUARD AFTER ALL.” Papyrus followed his brother, after setting your dish on the table.

You waved at him.

“ENJOY YOUR DAY AND THE MOST DELICIOUS MEAL, HUMAN,” he called from the living room.

Then you were alone.

You spent mere minutes working out what you needed and immediately sprang into action. You filled the backpack you used during hiking trips with Sans to the brim with essentials, like food, clothes and bottled water. You had no time to lose.

The moment you felt you were ready to leave, you grabbed your winter jacket and shot out the door. You knew Sans was already long gone since he always teleported and that Papyrus headed in the other direction to recalibrate the puzzles from the beginning. You knew this was your shot to try and find the child before it was too late.

……………………………………………

“─ork, she’s a-callin’. I swear, i’m wearing myself _down to the bone_ ,” Sans chuckled and kissed you.

 _“don’t feel too **bonely** without me, gorgeous,” _ he whispered low in your ear and continued his way past you to the door.

Your head suddenly hurt. _A lot._

“I, TOO, SHOULD MAKE MY LEAVE. IT IS THE DUTY OF A FUTURE ROYAL GUARD AFTER ALL.” Papyrus followed his brother, after setting your dish on the table.

“ENJOY YOUR DAY AND THE MOST DELICIOUS MEAL, HUMAN,” he called from the living room.

Then you were alone. 

You had the worst sense of déjà-vu.

But your sense of urgency won you over. You started gathering supplies. You decided to take the backpack you used on your hikes with Sans.

……………………………………………

You woke up with a start.

Your head hurt like a bitch.

You gripped it with both hands and hissed, trying to take deep breaths.

It was dark. You were calming down. Sans radiated warmth next to you. You looked around warily. Nothing seemed to be out of order. You put your head slowly back on your pillow and snuggled against the skeleton. His arm curled around you in reflex, and you closed your eyes. Your nakedness brought back fond memories of the evening before and with that, the pain was forgotten.

 

* * *

 

 

Months passed. Every day was the same. Time went excruciatingly slow.

You knew your day to day life was boring and meaningless. At least until the men in your life came back. But you didn’t want the brothers to worry, so you sucked it up. Sans had been overly worrying about that after you first started dating and you knew if you let it show, it would hurt him.

So you didn’t.  

You tried everything you could think of to keep you busy, to not let the depressing thoughts get to you again.

You didn’t really like going to the town, because you felt like the other monsters never fully accepted your presence. Nasty rumors about you were spread when you first settled, but you guessed Sans had put a stop to them when you suddenly didn’t hear them anymore. Still, every time you strolled around, judging glances and feared looks were shot your way.

All of that made you even more depressed, so with time you stopped going altogether.

The only other monster you felt at ease with was Grillby.

Sans had brought you to his bar many times. Grillby had seen you in every sense of the word. Laughing, crying, drunk, flirty, angry… maybe even a little naked after you and Sans had gotten a bit too friendly during closing hours after a night of heavy drinking.

But it wasn’t a surprise, since it was your boyfriend’s favorite hang-out after all. Grillby had seemed to grow fond of you with time, knowing your favorite drinks and dishes, giving you freebies and extra sides sometimes. You liked the man made of fire with his calm attitude and quick come-backs. But you didn’t want to go there alone, because of the others.

You didn’t want to go anywhere, because of them.

You sometimes hated yourself for being such a coward. But you knew you couldn’t survive against hostile monsters.

You thought about seeing the rest of the Underground many times, but Sans had made it very clear that you weren’t to go outside of Snowdin by yourself.

You knew Sans didn’t deny anything from you if it wasn’t for a damn good reason. So you didn’t.

More tedious weeks passed.

_But then._

 

* * *

 

Today started like any other.

The brothers had gone to work. You had cooked, watched Mettaton’s latest movie and read one of Sans’ physics books.

You were just starting to watch another movie when Sans stormed in through the door.

“we have to go.”

You sat up immediately.

You looked at him, confused. He wasn’t supposed to come back home for another three hours.

He looked furious. Devastated.

_His pupils had disappeared._

**_“now.”_ **

You stood up, panic rising in your chest.

Your eyes caught a flash of red in his arms. You instantly recognized it as the scarf Papyrus always wears. Papyrus never leaves the house without it. So it couldn’t be his scarf.

You noted the urgency in Sans’ voice.

Your eyes widened.

Stepping closer to him, you inspected the red cloth. There was dust on it.

Your heart stopped.

_No._

Tears stung your eyes. You looked at Sans looking for answers. But his eyes only gave you one thing. 

Heart-wrenching confirmation.

The tears fell freely now; your heartbeats rang heavy in your ears.

“look at me.” Sans gripped your shoulders. You simply looked into his empty eyes. “it’s not safe here anymore. we have to go to the lab.” You sobbed harder.

“there’s people there who can help,” he hugged you tightly, his hold almost painful in its intensity. He held on to you like you would disappear right in front of him. Like he would disappear right in front of you.

 For the first time during your life here, you heard tears in his voice.

**_“i love you.”_ **

You weren’t at home anymore.

 

* * *

 

 

The haze of teleportation made you dizzy. A lot of voices surrounded you. You could still feel Sans embracing you.

When your vision came into focus, you saw a _lot_ of different monsters gathered together in the same space. You gripped Sans’ jacket in alarm. Sans straightened himself. Your eyes darted around the room.

The atmosphere was thick with panic and anxiety. You could hear children crying. Despair, shock, sorrow, anger; all kinds of emotions were etched on the monsters’ faces.

“Sans!”, a rough voice called out.

Sans turned to face the speaker. It was a tall woman with striking red hair, razor-sharp teeth and fierce eyes. You pressed closer to Sans and gripped his jacket tighter. When she noticed you, her gaze filled with contempt.

“So this is the punk you’ve been hiding behind my back,” she spat out bitterly.

Sans didn’t look happy at her remark.

“you know damn well this isn’t the time, nor place to have this discussion, Undyne. you better treat my girl right or you’re gonna’ have a _really_ bad time.”

You froze after Sans’ declaration.

You realized that this woman was the reason you never stepped out of Snowdin in fear of your death. The woman that was said to capture every human with blood-chilling glee, without mercy and deliver them straight to the King. The woman who was _the head of the royal_ fucking _guard_.

And she was now standing before you.

Undyne looked at Sans dauntingly, her pupils narrowing.

She scoffed in response, but you saw a bit of respect in her expression. Her eyes softened a little when she dropped her gaze to the scarf in Sans’ hands. Deep grief took over her features.

You instantly let your fear drop, as you saw the love she clearly held for the younger brother.

Before either of them could say anything else, another, seemingly female, monster came to stand beside Undyne, focused on a clipboard in her hands.

She looked unmistakably similar to a dinosaur.

She lifted her attention to Undyne, “I-I think this is e-everyone,” and then to Sans.

Undyne turned around.

_“Almost everyone…”_

Her expression became murderous and her voice was laced with venom. You followed her gaze up to a huge computer monitor. There you saw…

you saw a child.

Another human.

Suddenly you felt a seizing flash of pain in your head. You cried out.

“woah! hey there… you ok, doll?” Sans’ arms held you steady, his voice full of concern. It seems you almost fell down. But as instantly as the pain had come, it disappeared.

“Yeah…I think so,” you answered sleepily. “Sorry, I just… I’m fine.”

Sans didn’t press you further, his focus already lifting to the screen again.

With the child was a little monster boy.

“I’m going.”

You whipped your head to look at the tall woman.

The other monster’s head also snapped towards her.

“Y-y-you c-can’t!” her voice quivered uncontrollably.

Undyne slowly turned towards her, looking confident.

“I’m going. And I’m going to put a stop to this! I’m the head of the royal guard. It’s my duty to protect our kind.”

Your thoughts went immediately to Papyrus. Another surge of pain went through you.

You looked at Sans. His eyes were once again empty.

The other monster teared up.

“You can’t go! Undyne, you can’t!” she broke down. Her clipboard clattered against the ground.

_“ You can’t…”_

Undyne crouched to her eye level. She smiled.

“You think that punk has even a slight chance against me?”, she put her hands on the other’s shoulders. “That little shit isn’t going to hit me even once!” She stood up confidently.

“And don’t you dare watch the last episodes without me, Alphys! Ya’ hear!? When this is over, we’re gonna’ binge the whole thing!” there was certainty in her voice. The other monster, Alphys, remained on the floor, tears pooling below her.

Already looking victorious, Undyne turned towards the exit. Towards you and Sans.

Her triumphant expression fell a little.

“I’ll see ya’ later, boney.”

Sans looked at her without emotion. She walked closer, almost passing you.

_“I’ll say hi to Papyrus for ya’.”_

And she was gone.

Her solemn voice rang in your ears. Your hand shot to your mouth in shock, to keep you from gasping in horror. Tears rose to your eyes. Sans stiffened completely.

You heard her armour clanking far away.  

Alphys remained quiet.

With a wave of his hand, Sans turned off the monitor.

Your heart was beating fast. The finality in the woman’s voice chilled you to your core.

In a shaky voice, you asked,

“S-sans…W-what’s going on?”

Sans didn’t even look at you.

Silently, he lead you towards a wall. He turned around, put his other hand behind your legs and lifted you off the ground. He sat down cross-legged and positioned you in his lap, his back resting against the concrete behind him. You automatically hugged his chest. The familiarity of the position brought you safety. This was how he comforted you whenever you needed it. You looked at him expectantly.

“a human,” he finally started, without emotion, eyes still fixed straight ahead.

You bit your lip.  He took a deep sigh and continued.

“a human, a kid, came through the ruins.” Your mind flashed to Toriel.

 “it all went like usual. i greeted ‘em, gave ‘em a good once-over, me and Pap giving ‘em a bone to pick at. you know, the works.”

You watched as, for just a second, pure longing burned in his eyes.

“but then… “, his voice became strained.

 “ _the killing started._ ”

Chills ran down your spine. His tone lowered.

“the kid just _slaughtered_ monster after monster, and didn’t stop even after wiping out most of Snowdin… but Pap didn’t give up…”

 _“he saw good in the kid,”_ pure hatred and _regret_ edged his words.

“i watched the kid from the side, _not caring._ it’s all going to be reset anyway, i thought. it doesn’t matter if i do anything… so i didn’t.” You looked at Sans in confusion. Reset?

“but then.”

His voice became extremely dark.

**_“but then the kid sliced the head of my brother clean off.”_ **

You stilled instantly. There it was.

The confirmation that Papyrus was really… _gone_. **_Murdered._**

Your breath became heavy and your pent up tears released themselves.

You cried.

You just cried.

You drowned you sobs in Sans’ shirt. He hugged you tightly to him, placing his head on top of yours, pressing his teeth against you.

He started stroking your side soothingly. You tried to calm yourself, trying to concentrate on the one you loved, knowing that the pain he felt must be a thousand times worse.

After a while you calmed down a little, revelling in the comfort of Sans’ gestures. You pressed against him with all your might, trying to give as much warmth back. His hand stopped its movement and rested against your arm.

The two of you sat still for a long time, taking in as much comfort from the other as possible.

Until he broke the silence.

“i gotta go, sweetheart.”

Your heart stopped.

You snapped your head up to him.

He finally looked at you. His expression was tired.

“What do you _mean you’ve got to go_?” you asked almost angrily, your tears making your voice waver.

He gazed at you sternly.

You knew where he was going. Of course you knew.

You knew there was more to him than he let on. You knew he hid things from you.

And most of all you knew you couldn’t keep him from going.

Your loud sobs returned as you looked at him square in the eyes. He followed your gaze with a sorrow filled one. He cast his look to the side, not bearing to see your tears.

You kissed him.

You kissed him as hard as you could.

You could taste your tears between your lips.

He pulled you against him, and returned the kiss with just as much force. The need to be as close as possible channelled through both of you.

Then he broke it.

The moment was over as soon as it started.  

Your lips hovered just over his mouth, fast, soft breaths ghosted over his teeth. You had closed your eyes.  

Then you whispered to him.

  _“…I love you.”_

You clung to him again in desperation, burying your face in his chest once more. You kept repeating your love declaration like a mantra and rocked into him, too shaken. Deep down you hoped he would stay with you. But you knew he wouldn’t.

He waited until you calmed down a little. You didn’t dare look at his face anymore.

He brought his mouth to your ear.

_“I’ll see you tonight, gorgeous.”_

And he was gone.

You were alone. Sobbing. On the floor.

You could still feel his warm body against you.

A quiet voice shook you out of your reverie.

“…H-h-hey.”

You didn’t move from your fetal position on the floor.

“I –ah… I k-k-know it’s hard, but w-we have to evacuate.” It was Alphys.

You glanced around. Most of the other monsters were already gone, a few making their way slowly out of the room.

“No,” you said bitterly.

“I’m not leaving.”

Alphys looked at you sadly. She didn’t say anything.

You laid in silence on the floor, dried tears pinching your cheeks.

Your eyes felt dry.

Alphys turned to help the rest of the citizens out. They scuttered around here and there, gathering things.

Before leaving herself, she glanced at you sadly once more.

And then the doors closed.

Now you really were alone.

The silence coaxed dark thoughts to surface in your mind.

Papyrus was dead.

Sans was gone.

Sans…

You were determined.

You would wait.

You curled in on yourself. Your whole body ached.

More tears came.

 

* * *

 

 

You opened your sore, puffy eyes.

You didn’t know how long you had laid still, trying not to think about anything, trying to think about everything. Trying to make time go faster.

You were tired.

Glancing around properly for the first time, your gaze settled on a knife that lay where Sans had previously been.  Next to it was Papyrus’ scarf.

You slowly crawled to them.

Sitting on your knees, you rubbed the soft material of the scarf between your fingers.

You wrapped it around your neck. Melancholy washed over you.

In a haze you took the knife and inspected it in your hands. You supposed Sans left it for you, if there came a time for you to defend yourself.

Touched that Sans still thought of you so much despite everything, you tucked it in your clothes for safekeeping.

You stood up.

In front of you loomed the computer the monsters were using earlier.

Realization dawned on you.

In a frenzy, you desperately tried to figure out a way to turn it on, pushing every button and connecting every cable you could see. Somehow you managed to be successful.

The child appeared on the screen.

Your blood instantly ran cold.

They were walking along a stony corridor. Completely covered in dust.

You felt sick.

But now what?

Your eyes were nervously focused on the child. They were talking to some kind of flower monster.

You eyed the keyboard, looking for a sound button. No luck.

You looked up again.

The child continued forward. You continued watching.

You felt so useless, just sitting there, unable to do anything.

Then you thought about the king. Where was he? The king could stop this massacre, couldn’t he?

Was he helping with the evacuation? Where would they all go?

The child had stilled.

You held your breath in trepidation.

 The child took a slow step forward and a shadow of someone revealed itself from behind the pillars.

It was… **_Sans._**

You cried out in despair. Conflictingly you were relieved to see him alive and well, but…

The child and him seemed to be just staring at each other, inhumanly still.

The child took another step.

Then the screen came alive.

Blue light lit the whole room. You stared at the screen, mesmerized. You saw Sans flinging his hands left and right, blue magic engulfing his whole being. His left eye burned a beautiful teal color you hadn’t seen before, once in a while flashing an angry yellow. He was smiling, but you could feel the fury oozing out of him.

The child was flying in all directions, like a ragdoll bouncing off the walls. Bones spawned everywhere, making the child’s body bend in awkward ways. You could see their bones starting to stick out of their body, blood everywhere.

Huge skulls manifested above and behind Sans, instantly shooting _lasers_ at the child.

Then it all stopped.

The child lay motionless on the ground.

You emptied your guts on the floor.

After coughing and managing to take a deep breath you glanced at the screen.

Your eyes widened in surprise.

The child hadn’t gotten up.

You felt a glimmer of hope in your chest. You felt a smile tug at the corners of your lips.

Sans had won.

Your boyfriend had won.

You laughed in incredulous disbelief.

……………………………………………

The child had stilled.

You held your breath in trepidation.

The child took a slow step forward and a shadow of someone revealed itself from behind the pillars.

It was… **_Sans._**

A hot flash of pain went through your head. This time, you screamed.

Memories came flooding through you, forcing themselves into your brain.

Sans won. You felt your triumph. But it was gone as soon as it came.

Why were you feeling happy again?

You looked at the screen. You saw the child bloody and battered on the ground.

Sans kept his guard up. You thought all of this felt familiar.

……………………………………………

The child had stilled.

You stared at them.

They took a slow step forward and then you saw Sans.

Your head throbbed a little. You knew what would happen.

Your head tried to wrap around the weird feeling.

Sans began his attack.

You watched the child die yet again.

……………………………………………

Again.

You watched the child take a step forward and Sans came to view.

This happened a few more times before you realized… Time was re-winding.

Everything went by so fast.

The fight repeated itself _dozens of times._

In horror you understood that the more it happened, ** _the_** **_closer the child got to Sans._**

_A hundred times._

You didn’t know why, but the rewinds became less painful. But your heart-ache worsened.

You could now clearly remember what had happened before. And what would happen after.

And with that came the blood-chilling knowledge that Sans slowly became … _predictable._

You could see it in the child’s determined eyes, that they remembered too.

You came to a conclusion.

 **_They_ ** _must have been the cause for the rewinds._

* * *

 

 

You understood now.

Time wound back every time the child died.

And every time Sans looked more tired.

Could _he_ remember, too?

_‘it’s all going to be reset anyway, i thought. it doesn’t matter if i do anything. so i didn’t.’_

**Reset.**

Time was being **reset.**

And all this time…

_Sans knew._

So why isn’t he altering his strategy?

Sans knew that resets were possible. So he must know that it was happening right now. Unless…

_Unless._

_He didn’t remember them._

You cried out in dismay and threw a coffee cup against the wall. Looking at the shattered pieces fly everywhere you felt more useless than ever.

You tried running to help him, even though you didn’t even begin to know where to go. You broke the computer screen with a chair in your frustration a couple of times. You tried to think of anything, _anything,_ to help your beloved.

But time always **_reset._**

And you always started where you left.

In the end, you fell on your knees in front of the computer, hopeless, feeling the resets happen again and again and again…

Their battle went on for an eternity. For Hours? Days? _Years?_

You didn’t know.

After some time, _a long time_ , you felt composed enough to eye the screen again. Your heart instantly filled with painful sorrow when you saw your lover. He looked absolutely exhausted, sweat dripping down his skull. But not panicked, or beaten. You felt bitter-sweet pride for your man.

The child seemed untouched, energized and confident. They were **_determined._**

You felt your hope slipping away.

But then, something unexpected happened.

They made their way towards Sans, dodging his attacks with ease.

 Suddenly, both of them came to a halt.

Sans seemed to try _talking_ to them.

Sans winked at the child, opening his arms, looking really apologetic.

You recognized that look anywhere.

_He was sparing them._

The child stared at him hollowly.

In a blink of an eye, the child stood next to him and _lunged_ with the knife in hand,

you _screamed,_

but Sans dodged at the very last second.

You took a breath in gripping relief.

When the dust settled, you could only manage a glance at Sans.

He looked downright **_horrifying_** _._ His smile had taken on a sinister tone. You could see that all the mercy he might’ve had in him was now _gone._

The bloodbath began again.

He started teleporting the child everywhere, making his attacks even faster, even more deadly.

Bones hacked, slashed, pierced and beat the child, lasers coming their way from every angle, gravity shifting in all directions.

A lot of resets came out of that. The gruelling wait began again.

The child managed to get to the same point many times. And every time you had to witness it.

Until, Sans just _stopped._

Dread crept up your spine.

This was it.

The moment when he just _couldn’t do it_ anymore.

The two just stared at each other. Again.

You held your breath.

Sans seemed to… sway a little.

You looked at him in confusion.

His head made little twitches.

**Wait.**

Not twitches.

**Nods.**

_He was dozing off._

_He was **dozing off**._

Your eyes teared up again.

You screamed.

**_“No!”_ **

_“No..!”_ you kept screaming. But nobody came.

**“Stay _alive!”_**

More tears.

_“Stay alive…”_

Your despaired request was unheard.

You wanted to escape. End this reality, right now.

 _“You can’t sleep now… you lazybones…”_ you whispered, voice raspy and tired.

Memories came to your mind. Warm memories.

Of the times when you snuggled up against him, head safely tucked in his arms. Of the times when he would bury his head in your chest and adoringly describe its softness.

Of the times you laughed with each other. Laughed _at_ each other. Yelled at each other. Embraced each other.

Of the times you couldn’t **_bear_** to be with each other. Times you couldn’t stand to be apart.

_Times when he would whisper ‘I love you’ and coo in your ear. Times when you held him in your lap after a bad nightmare._

_Times he would look at you so lovingly, so adoringly and you hoped you had managed to give at least a fraction of that back to him._

On the screen, you could see the child approaching him slowly. You knew, this would be it.

You angrily slammed your fists against the buttons on the keyboard. The sound came on.

You heard the tiny steps as they got closer. Sans snored softly.

In agony you watched the child raise their blade. You couldn’t tear your eyes away from the screen.

_‘I love you, Sans’_

…

“heh.”

Your heart leapt in your throat.

Sans was alive.

Sans had _dodged._

The child looked at him blankly in response.

Hope rose in your heart once again.

“didja really think you would be able t─”

A sickening slicing sound echoed through the speakers.

Your heart broke.

_No._

Sans fell onto his knees. The gash went all the way from his right shoulder to his left hip. You were in shock.

He sat down.

His breathing was heavy. Pained grunts came in-between his inhales. 

You trembled in complete disbelief.

“…”

“……”

“so.”

“….”

“guess that’s it, huh?”

_No._

“just… don’t say I didn’t warn ya.”

_No. No!_

Sans stood up. His movements were stiff and he seemed to be in agony. Yet he still kept that **_stupid smile._**

“welp… i’m going to grillby’s”

_No…._

He dragged his body out of the frame. Your legs betrayed you, and you fell into a heap onto the floor. Your heartbeat thumped loudly in your ears. Everything felt surreal. You were barely conscious when you heard his last strained words,

“sweetheart… “

A strained cough.

“Papyrus…

_“…do you want anything?”_

That was it. Your heart broke into a million pieces.

The child had won.

They had killed everyone you cared about.

Destroyed the only joy you had gained in the middle of this hellhole the monsters called underground.

Destroyed any hope you had for a family.

As the agonizing thoughts stabbed at your heart, a bitterly calming thought crept into your mind.

Could they, maybe _, possibly,_ also… _destroy you?_

_…_

You now hoped they would come back. You hoped the child would soon come and end your suffering.

You stared lifelessly at the floor, because you couldn’t cry anymore.

You felt nothing but numbing pain in your heart, and hoped for your end.

 

No doubt the child had moved on with their killing. They wouldn’t stop until they had finished _everyone._

You were unsettlingly glad that you didn’t have anyone you cared about left. They couldn’t hurt you any further.

You didn’t have any other family. You sighed.

A family…

…

The child.

The child had seemed familiar earlier.

Hadn’t they?

When you first looked at the computer screen at the time of the evacuation, the child _had seemed familiar._

Then you remembered.

_You remembered everything._

_The child was the same one who went on a date with Papyrus. The same one you then hoped to be an addition to your family. The same one who months ago skidded inside your **home.**_

**_The one you wanted to sacrifice yourself for._ **

You slammed your fist on the floor in anger, not caring about the pain that followed. 

The child must’ve reset back then. That’s why you forgot it.

But how did they do it?

Before you could think about the question further the world started crumbling before your eyes.

The familiar feeling of a reset happening filled you. You feared the worst. That you would have to witness the death of your lover again. And again.

And again…

 

* * *

 

 

_Sans…_

It was cold.

You slowly opened your eyes. Icy snow bit your cheeks.

Freezing, you laid there on the ground. You took a deep breath; crisp, fresh winter air filled your lungs.

Your exhaustion held you down in the snow.

You kept staring above you, watching the snowflakes fall calmly in a soothing manner.

You almost fell asleep there, feeling so at peace with the cold. So distant from all the things that had happened.

You recognized the pines around you.

 _This was where you met Sans for the first time_.

You smiled softly to yourself, going over the fond memory one more time.

Who would’ve thought the forest that started it all, would also be the end of it all. 

You closed your eyes, ready for sleep to take you.

“SANS, YOU STILL HAVEN’T RECALIBRATED YOUR PUZZLES!”

You jolted awake. Your limbs were aching and stiff. You quickly sat up.

**_Papyrus!?_ **

 “yeah, bro. i’ll do it later.”

**Sans.**

Your limbs didn’t want to cooperate. You stood up hastily, still slipping, almost landing in the snow, face first.

“YOU BETTER, YOU LAZY BONES. WE WANT TO BE EXCELLENTLY PREPARED FOR WHEN A HUMAN ARRIVES.”

“don’t worry, bro. i’ll promise to do a skele- _ton_ of work.”

You could hear Papyrus’ angry ‘Nyeh’s getting more distant.

You had to hurry.

With new determination, you set your course towards the brothers’ voices.

Your energy was low, but you pressed on.

_hey, sweetheart._

You were cold. Your aching body protested against you, making your movements slow and lagging.

_BEST FRIEND BIRTHDAY CELEBRATORY SPAGHETTI JUST FOR YOU HUMAN._

But you were almost there.

_LET’S HAVE A MOVIE MARATHON WITH ONLY METTATON’S ABSOLUTE BEST. I KNOW YOU APPRECIATE HIS TALENTS AS MUCH AS I DO HUMAN, SO IT WILL BE MORE THAN ENJOYABLE. SANS! MOVE! DON’T HOG THE COUCH WITH YOUR LAZYNESS._

You hadn’t gotten this far, just to give up now. You didn’t suffer through your loved ones’ deaths just to die before a chance to see them again. You swore to God you would never complain about anything in your life if you could just see those two again.

_you do know how much I love you, right, gorgeous?_

_Just a few trees left._

…

_“Sans?”_

Your voice rang weakly in the air.

The skeleton in question turned around in surprise.

He stared at you with wide eyes.

_There he was._

_Alive and well._

You didn’t know what to do.

So you kept staring at him. The tree you were leaning against felt rough under your cheek. Your shallow, weak puffs created little wisps in the cold air. Your insides held a storm of emotion.

You didn’t know if you should let hope into your heart again, as it was cruelly taken from you many times already. But the more you looked at him, the more you felt your walls breaking.

Your tear drops made little holes in the snow.

You felt a powerful burst of affection and relief power through you, so you ran towards him.

Or you would have.

Until his words broke the silence.

_“Do I know you, human?”_

Your heart lurched.

Paralyzing shock replaced all your emotions, as his painful words stabbed through your heart.

You stared at him with big eyes, trembling, tears rolling down your cheeks. You were sure your heart would explode from the gripping pain.

Then…

_Nothing._

You felt the last of your resolve die with those words. Your face went blank.

You now knew what you needed to do.

You knew how to end all this.

Sans looked at you warily.

You noticed how he eyed the scarf you wore.

You took out the knife he had given you.

Shock overtook his features.

Emotionless, you looked at him straight in the eyes.

Then you ran.

With the last of your energy, you ran, with certainty, you ran, straight to him, like all those times before.

Like all those times he came home. Like all those times you kissed him, you ran.

Then…

Euphoria.

Blinding whiteness overtook your vision, but you felt _so relieved. You felt his loving embrace._

_True bliss, true contentment… serenity._

But it slowly gave way to a blur.

In your haze you could make out your lover’s face.

_Blood on his cheeks._

And through your chest, _a bright teal bone stuck out_.

You moved your hands to feel it in front of you.

_if it’s a bone you want in ya’, sweetheart…make no mistake, i can definitely give it to you._

Your head felt heavy and your ears were stuffed.

But your boyfriend’s dirty joke played clear as day in your mind. You smiled at the memory.

Blood suddenly spattered on your palms.

_Was it yours?_

An image of the child flickered in your mind. But you felt nothing, knowing it was all over.

You shakily reached out to _his_ face.

You felt your blood filling out your lungs, making it harder to breathe every second.

You didn’t know if you even _could_ breathe anymore, but that didn’t matter. You were focused on _him._

You saw your fingers brushing his cheek. He looked conflicted. Surprised, sad and _regretful._

You looked deep into his eyes and there you saw a glimpse of the gaze of the man you had loved so achingly, once more.

In your final agonizing breath, you whispered to him,

 

_“I’ll see you tonight, handsome.”_

Sans always said you shouldn’t leave Snowdin by yourself.

 

So you didn’t.

**Author's Note:**

> So what did you guys think? Were there too many linebreaks? I still have to practice a lot with pacing, but fortunately I've been really into this writing thing lately. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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